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Recommendations for preventing the spread of vancomycin resistance.

A rapid increase in the incidence of infection and colonization with vancomycin-resistant enterococci (VRE) has been reported from U.S. hospitals in the last 5 years. This increase poses several problems, including: a) the lack of available antimicrobials for therapy of infections due to VRE, since most VRE are also resistant to multiple other drugs, e.g., aminoglycosides and ampicillin, previously used for the treatment of infections due to these organisms, and b) the possibility that the vancomycin resistance genes present in VRE may be transferred to other gram-positive microorganisms such as Staphylococcus aureus. An increased risk of VRE infection and colonization has been associated with previous vancomycin and/or multiantimicrobial therapy, severe underlying disease or immunosuppression, and intra-abdominal surgery. Because enterococci can be found in the normal gastrointestinal or female genital tract, most enterococcal infections have been attributed to endogenous sources within the individual patient. However, recent reports of outbreaks and endemic infections due to enterococci, including VRE, have shown that patient-to-patient transmission of the microorganisms can occur either via direct contact or indirectly via hands of personnel or contaminated patient-care equipment or environmental surfaces. Prevention and control of the spread of vancomycin resistance will require coordinated, concerted effort from various departments of the hospital, and can only be achieved if each of the following elements is addressed: 1) prudent vancomycin use by clinicians, 2) education of hospital staff regarding the problem of vancomycin resistance, 3) early detection and prompt reporting of vancomycin resistance in enterococci and other gram-positive microorganisms by the hospital microbiology laboratory, and 4) immediate implementation of appropriate infection-control measures to prevent person-to-person transmission of VRE.

Cross Infection↗

Vancomycin use in a university medical center: comparison with hospital infection control practices advisory committee guidelines.

OBJECTIVE: To compare actual vancomycin use in a hospital with the guidelines proposed by the Hospital Infection Control Practices Advisory Committee (HICPAC) of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. DESIGN: One-month prospective survey of all patients given vancomycin. Data were collected from patient and laboratory records and discussions with prescribing physicians. SETTING: Four hundred sixty-one-bed tertiary-care university hospital. RESULTS: Only 35% of the 101 vancomycin orders written during the audit were consistent with HICPAC guidelines. Twenty-eight patients were begun on vancomycin for the treatment of documented infections due to beta-lactam-resistant gram-positive bacteria or because preliminary culture results suggested such bacteria were present. Seven methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus, two ampicillin-resistant enterococci, and 10 coagulase-negative staphylococci were recovered. Vancomycin use was judged inappropriate in 66 patients. The drug was used empirically without obtaining appropriate cultures (44 patients), as surgical prophylaxis (6 patients), for primary treatment of antibiotic-associated colitis (3 patients), for convenience in a hemodialysis patient (1 patient), or for other reasons not recommended by HICPAC (12 patients). CONCLUSIONS: Vancomycin use in our teaching center often was inconsistent with HICPAC guidelines. Information from the audit will be useful for designing strategies to improve vancomycin use.

Aminoglycosides↗

Efficacy of vancomycin plus rifampin in experimental aortic-valve endocarditis due to methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus: in vitro-in vivo correlations.

Studies of in vitro and in vivo bactericidal interactions of vancomycin plus rifampin against Staphylococcus aureus have yielded conflicting results. In this study the efficacy of this drug combination in experimental endocarditis due to a methicillin-resistant strain of S. aureus was investigated. Left-sided endocarditis was induced in 84 rabbits by an infecting strain that had been found to be synergistically killed by vancomycin plus rifampin in vitro when tested by the timed-kill curve technique; in contrast, the checkerboard technique had indicated that the two drugs were antagonistic against this strain. Infected animals received no therapy, vancomycin alone (30 mg/kg per day), rifampin alone (20 mg/kg per day), or both drugs (in the same doses). The combination was significantly more effective than the single-drug regimens in terms of (1) reduction of mean methicillin-resistant S. aureus vegetation titers (P less than .05-.0005), (2) rate and incidence of sterilization of vegetations (P less than .0005), and (3) rate of "radical" cure of endocarditis (P less than .005). Vancomycin alone and vancomycin plus rifampin were equally effective in reducing mortality and sterilizing renal abscesses. The use of vancomycin prevented the in vivo development of resistance to rifampin. No evidence that rifampin exerted an antagonistic effect on the in vivo bactericidal activity of vancomycin was found.

Animals↗

Teicoplanin compared with vancomycin for treatment of experimental endocarditis due to methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus epidermidis.

This study compared teicoplanin with vancomycin without and with gentamicin and/or rifampin for treatment of experimental endocarditis due to methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus epidermidis. In rabbits treated for three days and killed 12 hr after the last doses of antimicrobial agents, no significant difference in reducing bacterial titers of vegetations was detected between vancomycin and teicoplanin without and with gentamicin and/or rifampin. Addition of gentamicin and/or rifampin to vancomycin or teicoplanin significantly reduced bacterial titers of vegetations compared with vancomycin or teicoplanin alone. Addition of rifampin alone or gentamicin plus rifampin was significantly more effective than addition of gentamicin alone. In rabbits treated for three days and killed seven days after the last doses of antimicrobial agents, no significant difference in sterilizing vegetations was detected between vancomycin and teicoplanin with gentamicin and/or rifampin. However, there was a trend (probably due to the longer elimination half-life of teicoplanin in serum) that clearly favored teicoplanin over vancomycin. Teicoplanin plus rifampin without or with gentamicin is at least as effective as vancomycin plus rifampin without or with gentamicin for treatment of experimental endocarditis due to methicillin-resistant S. epidermidis.

Animals↗

Selection for vancomycin resistance in clinical isolates of Staphylococcus haemolyticus.

Killing curves were used to characterize Staphylococcus haemolyticus isolates previously reported to contain subpopulations showing increased resistance to vancomycin. Results suggested that vancomycin and teicoplanin were ineffective at a concentration of 8 micrograms/ml and growth was seen between 24 and 48 h. Conversely, the lipopeptide antibiotic daptomycin at the same concentration rapidly killed tested strains by 6 h. Various staphylococcal strains were examined to determine if vancomycin resistance could be selected in all strains of staphylococci, was specie(s) restricted, or was unique to this patient's clinical isolates. About 1 x 10(8) colony-forming units were added to melted brain-heart infusion agar plates containing 12 micrograms/ml of vancomycin. Plates were examined after 48 h for presence of resistant clones. Results indicated that selection for vancomycin resistance was restricted to S. haemolyticus strains. Further, all S. haemolyticus isolates that displayed a double zone of growth around imipenem agar diffusion discs (Impdz) contained stably resistant subpopulations. Vancomycin resistance could not be selected in imipenem-sensitive derivative clones. Impdz isolates that were recovered from geographically distinct locations displayed nearly identical SDS-PAGE protein profiles. It appears that a characteristic susceptibility pattern displayed by clinical isolates of S. haemolyticus may provide a marker for those strains that contain subpopulations having increased resistance to vancomycin.

Bacterial Proteins↗

Endotoxin increases the nephrotoxic potential of gentamicin and vancomycin plus gentamicin.

To assess the possible role of endotoxin as an amplification factor for experimental nephrotoxicity due to gentamicin plus vancomycin, rats were given continuous intravenous (iv) endotoxin or saline followed by twice-daily intraperitoneal (ip) saline, vancomycin (20 mg/kg ip), gentamicin (15 mg/kg subcutaneously), or both gentamicin and vancomycin. After 5 or 8 days of treatment, functional and histologic parameters of renal function were evaluated: cortical drug levels, tritiated thymidine incorporation into cellular DNA, creatinine clearance, and appearance by light and electron microscopy. In animals not given endotoxin, only rats that received gentamicin plus vancomycin developed measurable abnormalities. Endotoxin did not cause nephrotoxicity in vancomycin-treated rats. However, in endotoxin-infused rats treated with gentamicin or gentamicin plus vancomycin for 8 days, the increase in blood urea nitrogen, decrease in creatinine clearance, and rise in renal cortical DNA synthesis were more severe than those in non-endotoxin-infused rats (P less than .01). In these studies, endotoxin amplified the nephrotoxic potential of gentamicin alone and gentamicin plus vancomycin.

Animals↗

Activated cell-wall synthesis is associated with vancomycin resistance in methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus clinical strains Mu3 and Mu50.

We have previously reported methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus clinical strains, Mu50 and Mu3, representing two categories of vancomycin resistance: Mu50 representing vancomycin-resistant S. aureus (VRSA) with MICs > or = 8 mg/L, and Mu3 representing hetero-VRSA with MICs < or = 4 mg/L using standard MIC determination methods. The mechanisms of vancomycin resistance in these strains were investigated. These strains did not carry the enterococcal vancomycin-resistance genes, vanA, vanB, or vanC1-3, as tested by PCR using specific primers. However, both strains produced three to five times the amount of penicillin-binding proteins (PBPs) 2 and 2' when compared with vancomycin-susceptible S. aureus control strains with or without methicillin resistance; the amounts of PBP2 produced in Mu3 and Mu50 were comparable to those in the vancomycin-resistant S. aureus mutant strains selected in vitro. Incorporation of 14C-labelled Nacetyl-glucosamine into the cell was three to 20 times increased in Mu50 and Mu3, and release of the radioactive cell wall material was increased in Mu3 (and also in Mu50, though to a lesser extent), compared with control strains. The amounts of intracellular murein monomer precursor in these strains were three to eight times greater than those found in control strains. Transmission electron microscopy showed a doubling in the cell wall thickness in Mu50 compared with the control strains. Mu3 did not show obvious cell wall thickening. These data indicate that activated synthesis and an increased rate of cell wall turnover are common features of Mu3 and Mu50 and may be the prerequisite for the expression of vancomycin resistance in S. aureus.

Acetylglucosamine↗

In situ measurement of linezolid and vancomycin concentrations in intravascular catheter-associated biofilm.

We describe a new method for the measurement of antimicrobial concentrations in the biofilm associated with the endoluminal surface of intravascular catheters. We quantified endoluminal planktonic bacteria in haemodialysis catheters using the acridine orange method on catheter blood. After catheter removal, separate lumens were perfused in vitro with either vancomycin or linezolid to simulate in vivo antibiotic infusion. Biofilm was recovered using endoluminal brushes, weighed and assayed by fluoroimmunoassay for vancomycin and by bioassay for linezolid. Viable bacteria were counted by serial dilution and agar plating. Biofilm had measurable amounts of vancomycin in 11/11 catheter lumens post-infusion (0.3-18.2 mg biofilm per lumen, mean 6.8 mg; vancomycin concentration 0.2-89 mg/g biofilm, median 19 mg/g). By comparison, linezolid was detected in 4/11 catheter lumens post-infusion (0.5-18.1 mg biofilm per lumen, mean 5.9 mg; linezolid concentration 0.9-6.1 mg/g biofilm, median 1.5 mg/g). Percentage reductions in biofilm-associated bacterial counts post-antibiotic were 84-100%, median 95% (vancomycin) and 0-98%, median 91% (linezolid). We found a significant difference (P = 0.05; Wilcoxon rank sum test) in vancomycin concentrations in coagulase-negative staphylococcal biofilm (median 17.0 mg/g, mean 27.9 mg/g) compared with glycopeptide levels found in biofilm associated with other microorganisms (median 5.5 mg/g, mean 6.9 mg/g). Biofilm concentrations of vancomycin are generally higher than linezolid after antibiotic infusion, which can be explained partly by glycopeptide binding to glycocalyx. Neither antibiotic achieved consistent 100% kill of biofilm bacteria after single infusions, even when a very high concentration was present. The endoluminal brush technique can be used to measure antibiotic concentration in intravascular catheter-associated biofilm in situ. This approach can be exploited to measure biofilm antibiotic concentrations in vivo, without the need for catheter removal.

Acetamides↗

Experimental study of the efficacy of vancomycin, rifampicin and dexamethasone in the therapy of pneumococcal meningitis.

The object of the study was to assess the efficacy of rifampicin and the combination of rifampicin plus vancomycin in a rabbit model of experimental penicillin-resistant pneumococcal meningitis. We also studied the effect of concomitant dexamethasone on the CSF antibiotic levels and inflammatory parameters. The rabbit model of pneumococcal meningitis was used. Groups of eight rabbits were inoculated with 106 cfu/mL of a cephalosporin-resistant pneumococcal strain (MIC of cefotaxime/ceftriaxone 2 mg/L). Eighteen hours later they were treated with rifampicin 15 mg/kg/day, vancomycin 30 mg/kg/day or both plus minus dexamethasone (0.25 mg/kg/day) for 48 h. Serial CSF samples were withdrawn to carry out bacterial counts, antibiotic concentration and inflammatory parameters. Rifampicin and vancomycin promoted a reduction of >3 log cfu/mL at 6 and 24 h, and cfu were below the level of detection at 48 h. Combination therapy with vancomycin plus rifampicin was not synergic but it had similar efficacy to either antibiotic alone and it was able to reduce bacterial concentration below the level of detection at 48 h. Concomitant use of dexamethasone decreased vancomycin levels when it was used alone (P< 0.05), but not when it was used in combination with rifampicin. Rifampicin alone at 15 mg/kg/day produced a rapid bactericidal effect in this model of penicillin-resistant pneumococcal meningitis. The combination of vancomycin and rifampicin, although not synergic, proved to be equally effective. Using this combination in the clinical setting may allow rifampicin administration without emergence of resistance, and possibly concomitant dexamethasone administration without significant interference with CSF vancomycin levels.

Animals↗

Comparative evaluation of tigecycline and vancomycin, with and without rifampicin, in the treatment of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus experimental osteomyelitis in a rabbit model.

OBJECTIVES: Staphylococcus aureus is the most common organism isolated in osteomyelitis. Methicillin-resistant S. aureus (MRSA) infections are particularly difficult to treat. We evaluated the efficacy of tigecycline and vancomycin with and without rifampicin in a rabbit model of MRSA osteomyelitis. METHODS: A 28 day antibiotic therapy with a subcutaneous injection of tigecycline (14 mg/kg twice daily), with and without oral rifampicin (40 mg/kg twice daily); or subcutaneous administration of vancomycin (30 mg/kg twice daily), with and without oral rifampicin (40 mg/kg twice daily) were compared. Osteomyelitis was induced with an intramedullary injection of 10(6) colony-forming units of MRSA. Infected rabbits were randomly divided into six groups: tigecycline, tigecycline with oral rifampicin, vancomycin, vancomycin with oral rifampicin, and no treatment control and tigecycline bone penetration groups. Treatment began 2 weeks after infection. After 4 weeks of therapy, the rabbits were left untreated for 2 weeks. Rabbits were then euthanized, and the tibias were harvested. The bones were cultured, and bacterial counts of MRSA were performed. RESULTS: Rabbits that received tigecycline and oral rifampicin therapy (n=14) showed a 100% infection clearance. Rabbits treated with tigecycline (n=10) showed a 90% clearance. Rabbits treated with vancomycin and oral rifampicin (n=10) also showed a 90% clearance. Rabbits treated with vancomycin (n=11) showed an 81.8% clearance. Untreated controls (n=15) demonstrated only a 26% clearance. For the tigecycline bone penetration group, the bone concentrations of tigecycline in the infected tibia were significantly higher than the non-infected ones. CONCLUSIONS: Tigecycline may be an effective alternative to vancomycin in the treatment of MRSA osteomyelitis.

Animals↗

Comparison of the efficacy of ramoplanin and vancomycin in both in vitro and in vivo models of clindamycin-induced Clostridium difficile infection.

OBJECTIVES: Treatment of Clostridium difficile infection (CDI) is limited primarily to either metronidazole or vancomycin. We compared vancomycin and a novel glycolipodepsipeptide, ramoplanin, in both hamster and in vitro gut models of clindamycin-induced CDI. METHODS: We used an in vitro triple-stage chemostat model that simulates the human gut, and an in vivo hamster model, both primed with clindamycin. RESULTS: Clindamycin exposure elicited symptomatic disease in the hamster model, and promoted C. difficile germination and toxin production in the gut model. C. difficile germination and toxin production were not associated with depletion of gut microflora in the gut model, but were temporarily associated with subinhibitory concentrations of clindamycin. Both ramoplanin and vancomycin were associated with rapid symptom resolution in the hamster model, and rapid toxin titre decrease in the in vitro gut model. In both models of CDI, vancomycin was associated with greater persistence of C. difficile spores. C. difficile spores were recovered significantly more often from the caecal contents of vancomycin-treated (n = 19/23) compared with ramoplanin-treated (n = 6/23) hamsters (P < 0.05). CONCLUSIONS: Results from the in vitro gut and hamster models were concordant. Ramoplanin and vancomycin were similarly effective at reducing cytotoxin production in the gut CDI model and in resolving symptoms in the hamster model. Ramoplanin may be more effective than vancomycin at killing spores and preventing spore recrudescence. These findings suggest a potential therapeutic role for ramoplanin in CDI that requires further clinical investigation.

Animals↗

Measurement of ampicillin, vancomycin, linezolid and gentamicin activity against enterococcal biofilms.

BACKGROUND: Enterococci frequently cause biofilm infections but susceptibility of clinical isolates growing in biofilms has not been investigated. The minimum biofilm eradicating concentration (MBEC) has been suggested as a guide to treatment of biofilm infections. We measured an alternative endpoint, the minimum biofilm inhibitory concentration (MBIC) and compared the results with MIC and MBC. OBJECTIVES: To compare the MIC, MBC and MBIC of ampicillin, vancomycin and linezolid against enterococcal biofilms, to assess the impact of additional gentamicin and correlate findings with clinical outcome. METHODS: MIC and MBC were measured using standard techniques. MBICs were measured using a modification of the Calgary biofilm device method. Fifty-eight enterococcal isolates from episodes of intravascular catheter-related bloodstream infection were tested. RESULTS: Tolerance to ampicillin, vancomycin and linezolid was seen in 93%, 100% and 93% of isolates, respectively. MIC(90)s of ampicillin, vancomycin and linezolid were all 4 mg/L for Enterococcus faecalis isolates. MBC(90)s of ampicillin, vancomycin and linezolid for E. faecalis isolates were 1024, >128 and 2048 mg/L, respectively. MBIC(90)s of ampicillin, vancomycin and linezolid for E. faecalis isolates were 8192, 4096 and 4096 mg/L, respectively. Results for Enterococcus faecium were similar for vancomycin and linezolid but this species was generally more resistant to ampicillin. Adding 10 mg/L gentamicin had a variable effect on MIC, MBC or MBIC, which was not predictable by gentamicin susceptibility on disc testing. CONCLUSIONS: Very high concentrations of ampicillin, vancomycin and linezolid are required to inhibit enterococcal biofilms in vitro. Combining these agents with gentamicin significantly reduced MIC, MBC and MBIC against only a proportion of enterococcal isolates. No correlation between MBIC and outcome was found.

Acetamides↗

Comparative activity of cloxacillin and vancomycin against methicillin-susceptible Staphylococcus aureus experimental endocarditis.

OBJECTIVES: To compare the activity of cloxacillin and vancomycin against methicillin-susceptible Staphylococcus aureus and to determine how rapidly their bactericidal activity occurs in cardiac vegetations. METHODS: In vitro and in vivo studies using an experimental model of endocarditis in rabbits. Animals were treated for 1, 2 or 3 days with cloxacillin 200 mg/kg intramuscularly three times a day or vancomycin 25 mg/kg intravenously twice a day. RESULTS: Cloxacillin and vancomycin at concentrations 4- and 16-fold the MIC produced a modest decrease in the number of microorganisms at 4 h. After 24 h, cloxacillin produced a decrease in the counts of staphylococci from 2.19 to 4.84 log10 cfu/mL of inoculum. Only concentrations of vancomycin from 16- to 32-fold the MIC resulted in equivalent decreases. After 24 h of treatment, both antibiotics were equally effective in preventing mortality of rabbits. Cloxacillin produced a greater decrease in the number of staphylococci than vancomycin (3.50+/-2.18 log10 cfu/g vegetation and 6.25+/-1.28 log10 cfu/g vegetation, respectively; P<0.05) and 41% of rabbits had sterile vegetations in comparison with none with vancomycin (P=0.035). After 48 and 72 h of treatment, both antimicrobials exhibited equivalent activity. CONCLUSIONS: Vancomycin was less rapidly bactericidal than cloxacillin in vivo.

Animals↗

Testing the mutant selection window hypothesis with Staphylococcus aureus exposed to daptomycin and vancomycin in an in vitro dynamic model.

OBJECTIVES: To extend the mutant selection window (MSW) hypothesis to include antibiotics in addition to fluoroquinolones, the pharmacodynamics of daptomycin (DAP) and vancomycin (VAN) and their ability to prevent the selection of resistant Staphylococcus aureus were studied in an in vitro model that simulates antibiotic concentrations below the MIC, between the MIC and the mutant prevention concentration (MPC), and above the MPC. METHODS: Two clinical isolates of S. aureus, S. aureus 866 (MIC(DAP) 0.35, MIC(VAN) 0.7, MPC(DAP) 1.1, MPC(VAN) 2.4 mg/L) and S. aureus 10 (MIC(DAP) 1.1, MIC(VAN) 1.3, MPC(DAP) 5.5, MPC(VAN) 11 mg/L), were exposed for five consecutive days to once-daily daptomycin (half-life 9 h) and twice-daily vancomycin (half-life 6 h) at the ratio of 24 h area under the concentration-time curve (AUC24) to MIC that varied over a 16- to 30-fold range. The cumulative antimicrobial effect was expressed by its intensity (I(E)). Changes in susceptibility and numbers of surviving organisms on agar plates containing 2x and 4x MIC of daptomycin or vancomycin were monitored daily. RESULTS: The I(E)-log AUC24/MIC plots were bacterial strain- and antibiotic-independent. This allowed combination of data obtained with both antibiotics and both organisms. Based on the sigmoid relationship between I(E) and the AUC24/MIC (r2 = 0.9), the antistaphylococcal effect of the therapeutic doses of daptomycin (4 and 6 mg/kg) against a hypothetical S. aureus with MIC equal to the MIC90 (AUC24/MIC90 380 and 570 h, respectively) was predicted to be similar to the effect of two 1 g doses of vancomycin given at a 12 h interval (AUC24/MIC90 200 h). AUC24/MIC relationships of the final-to-initial MIC ratio and logarithm of the ratio of maximal-to-initial numbers of organisms resistant to 2x and 4x MIC of daptomycin or vancomycin were bell-shaped and bacterial strain- and antibiotic-independent. Based on these relationships, an AUC24/MIC ratio that protects against the selection of resistant mutants was predicted at > or = 200 h. This protective value is less than the AUC24/MIC90s provided by the 4 mg/kg dose and considerably less than the 6 mg/kg dose of daptomycin, but it is close to the AUC24/MIC90 provided by two 1 g doses of vancomycin. CONCLUSIONS: These findings support the MSW hypothesis and suggest comparable antistaphylococcal effects of clinically achievable AUC24/MIC90s of daptomycin and vancomycin but slightly better prevention against the selection of resistant S. aureus by daptomycin.

Anti-Bacterial Agents↗

Pharmacokinetics of intravenous vancomycin in pediatric cardiopulmonary bypass surgery.

The purposes of this investigation were to characterize the disposition of vancomycin in children undergoing cardiopulmonary bypass (CPB) surgery and to determine whether a 15-mg/kg intravenous dose provides adequate serum concentrations during and after CPB. Six children (age range, 0.8 to 4.8 years) received intravenous vancomycin 15 mg/kg 1 to 2 hours before CPB surgery. Serial blood samples (mean, 10/patient) were collected before, during and after CPB surgery. The mean (+/- SD) vancomycin concentrations at the end of the infusion and 5 hours after the infusion were 27.3 +/- 5.7 and 5.9 +/- 3.0 mg/liter, respectively. The initiation of CPB resulted in an abrupt decrease (44.5%) in serum vancomycin concentrations; however, concentrations remained constant (range, 6.2 to 14.1 mg/liter) throughout the rest of the CPB procedure. The mean (+/- SD) values for the apparent volume of distribution, total body clearance and elimination half-life were 0.59 +/- 0.15 liter/kg, 2.94 +/- 0.93 ml/min/kg and 2.4 +/- 0.8 hours, respectively. These values were similar to those reported in the literature for children not undergoing CPB surgery. A single vancomycin dose of 15 mg/kg before pediatric CPB surgery provides serum concentrations greater than 5 mg/liter throughout the duration of the CPB procedure. To sustain these concentrations subsequent dosing of vancomycin is necessary within 6 hours after the initial vancomycin dose.

Cardiopulmonary Bypass↗

Vancomycin serum concentrations in patients with renal dysfunction: a comparison of fluorescence polarization immunoassay and the enzyme-multiplied immunoassay technique.

A study was conducted to determine whether assay-specific quantitative differences exist in the determination of vancomycin serum concentrations obtained from patients with renal dysfunction. Vancomycin serum concentrations were obtained during the first week of therapy for each of three time intervals: 48-96 h, 96-144 h, and 144-192 h after administration of the first dose of vancomycin. Vancomycin serum concentrations were measured using the enzyme-multiplied immunoassay technique (EMIT) and fluorescence polarization immunoassay (FPIA). Twenty patients with an estimated creatinine clearance < 40 ml/min who were receiving intravenous vancomycin were evaluated. Hemodialysis was required in 16 of 20 patients. Fifty samples were included in the data analysis. The mean (+/-SD) serum concentrations obtained with EMIT and FPIA were 10.9 mg/L (+/-5.3) and 12.6 mg/L (+/-5.7), respectively (p = 0.13), and were not statistically different. A linear relationship was observed between EMIT and FPIA (EMIT = 0.89 x FPIA - 0.24; r2 = 0.93). No statistically significant differences were observed in the calculated pharmacokinetic parameters between methods. FPIA and EMIT are comparable methods in determining vancomycin serum concentrations within the first week of vancomycin therapy in patients with moderate to severe renal dysfunction.

Adult↗

Special considerations for monitoring vancomycin concentrations in pediatric patients.

The objectives of this study were to estimate the prevalence of low or excessive vancomycin dosing after initiation of treatment in pediatric patients and to determine the factors that are most predictive of optimized vancomycin dosage in this group. Among 74 patients who underwent vancomycin concentration monitoring, low trough (< 4.0 micrograms/ml) and/or peak (< 15.0 micrograms/ml) concentrations were noted in 28 (38%) patients after the initiation of therapy but in only four of the 28 (14%) patients (p = 0.29) after optimization of the initial dosage. There were not toxic peak concentrations (> 60 micrograms/ml) reported during the study. In patients older than 1 month old, 11 low peaks were associated with troughs less than 7.5 micrograms/ml, whereas no low peaks were associated with troughs more than 7.5 micrograms/ml. The significant predictive variables of optimized vancomycin dosage in the reduced regression model (p < 0.00001; adjusted r2 =0.85; n = 36) were (log) initial dose (p < 0.0001), initial trough (p < 0.0001), and age (p = 0.009). Initial peak concentrations were not associated with the optimized dosage (p = 0.50). The results of this study indicate that approximately 40% of all pediatric patients will be at risk of significant underdosing if standard vancomycin dosing guidelines are followed and that patients older than 1 month old with initial trough concentrations less than 7.5 micrograms/ml are at a greater risk of low peak concentrations than individuals with trough concentrations more than 7.5 micrograms/ml. Monitoring vancomycin concentrations appears to be essential to prevent the underdosing of many pediatric patients; however, only initial trough vancomycin concentrations may be needed to optimize dosages.

Adolescent↗

Vancomycin pharmacokinetics and Bayesian estimation in pediatric patients.

The vancomycin pharmacokinetic profile was characterized in six pediatric patients and the potential of nonlinear mixed effects modeling and Bayesian forecasting for vancomycin monitoring was explored using NONMEM V (1.1). Based on steady state serial vancomycin concentrations, the estimates of mean t1/2, Vd, and Cl derived by the Sawchuk and Zaske method (1) were 3.52 hours, 0.57 L/kg, and 0.12 L/h per kg, respectively. NONMEM analysis demonstrated that a weight-adjusted two-compartment model described individual patients' data better than a comparable one-compartment model. The two-compartment estimates of mean t1/2alpha, t1/2beta, Vss, and Cl were 0.80 hour, 5.63 hours, 0.63 L/kg, and 0.11 L/h per kg, respectively. The relatively long mean t1/2alpha suggests that peak vancomycin concentrations measured earlier than 4 hours postdose do not reflect postdistributional serum concentrations. NONMEM population modeling revealed that a weight-adjusted two-compartment model provided a better fit than a comparable one-compartment model. The resulting population parameters and variances were fixed in NONMEM to obtain Bayesian predictions of individual vancomycin serum concentrations. Bayesian estimation with either a single midinterval or trough sample has the potential to provide accurate and precise predictions of vancomycin concentrations. This should be evaluated using a vancomycin population pharmacokinetic model based on a larger sample of pediatric patients.

Anti-Bacterial Agents↗